


Nightbird Revealed

by ItsNotEasyBeingQueen



Category: Glee
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Future Fic, M/M, Return of the Costumes, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-28 09:09:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11414727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsNotEasyBeingQueen/pseuds/ItsNotEasyBeingQueen
Summary: Blaine is surprised when Kurt comes across the Nightbird costume he had carefully hidden away.  Kurt is surprised when he learns how and why the costume came to be.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> "Didn't I read this already?" you ask. On FF, maybe, but not here. I accidentally used this title on another fic that I cross-posted (I know, right?) but corrected that to its proper title, "A Hero's Hero." This is the original story that went with "Nightbird Revealed," and is completely unrelated to AHH. Hope you like it.

“Oh, come on.  I know it’s here somewhere,” Kurt muttered to himself in frustration as he looked through yet another box.  Since he and Blaine had moved back to New York together after the wedding, storage was at kind of a premium.  They’d needed to get creative in finding places to store their belongings, but that creativity meant that things were not always in the most logical places.

At the moment, all Kurt needed was to find one lousy photo album.  Rachel recently had the unmitigated gall to deny having worn anything as awful as a reindeer sweater, and Kurt knew that he had a photo to prove her wrong.  He could not let her get away with it. 

He crossed the bedroom and went to the one closet he hadn’t checked yet.  He opened one box after another, not paying too much attention to the labels until he opened one rather large box that caught him by surprise.  The contents on top didn’t look familiar.  He pulled back and looked at the outside, then realized by the label that it was one of Blaine’s boxes.  (He also realized that he had WAY more stuff in this apartment than Blaine did, as this was the first of Blaine’s belongings he had discovered.)  Curiosity piqued, he looked over his shoulder towards the door.  Blaine was in the other room at the moment.  He wanted to know what types of things his husband had decided to box up at the bottom of the closet, so he decided to snoop. 

On top were some programs from show choir competitions, followed by some pictures from prom and graduation – it was a box of high school memorabilia.  He smiled at the pictures of the two of them together and the incredible amount of gel Blaine used back in those days.  He hadn’t given it up entirely, but thank goodness he had toned it down.

Underneath those papers was what appeared to be a garment bag folded up to squeeze in the box.  Kurt knew it couldn’t be Blaine’s Dalton blazer – that hung in the closet quite reverently.  He pulled the garment bag out and laid it on the bed.  With another quick glance over his shoulder as though afraid of being caught, he unzipped the bag and pulled out the contents. 

“Huh,” he said aloud.  “I was definitely not expecting this.”  He unfurled what appeared to be a cape of some sort – black sparkling material on the outside, blue on the inside.  He turned it around and saw the image of a bird in flight silhouetted against a full moon.  Setting the cape aside, he then removed some type of black and blue chest plate with metallic details at the shoulders, along with a long-sleeved black shirt and pants.  There were also some miscellaneous accessories and – good grief – was that a utility belt?   It looked way too elaborate to be a Halloween costume.  Whatever the story was behind this outfit, it was sure to be hilarious, and he just had to know what it was.  Right now.

 “Uh, Blaine?” he called out.

“Yeah, babe,” he heard Blaine reply from the living room where he’d been working.

“Can you come in here for a minute?  I need your help with something.”  He had to concentrate to keep the laughter out of his voice.

“Sure,” Blaine said, walking toward the bedroom.  When he got to the door, he stopped abruptly, not quite believing what he saw, which was Kurt holding up the black cape in front of him.

Blaine’s eyes went wide and the color drained from his face momentarily.  “No, n-n-n-n-no,” was all he could get out as he rushed to snatch the garment from Kurt’s hands.  The color returned quickly to his face and he blushed deeply as he looked at Kurt, who was barely suppressing his laughter at his husband’s comical reaction. 

“So, sweetheart,” Kurt began, using the endearment purposefully to calm Blaine down while he put a hand on his arm.  After all, he didn’t want to upset Blaine, but he wasn’t exactly about to let this go, either.  “Is there something you want to tell me?”  He leaned in with a look of mock seriousness, his eyebrows furrowed but a playful smile beginning to form on his lips.

Blaine recovered his composure as he realized his “secret” was out.  He rolled his eyes and let out a sigh, staring back at Kurt. 

“What are you doing with this?”  Blaine asked.  He glanced over and saw the box open on the floor.  “Been busy in here, darling?” There was no heat behind his words, but a little bit of snarky emphasis was placed on the pet name.

“Oh, no,” Kurt retorted.  “You need to answer my question first.”

Blaine drew another deep breath and walked past Kurt to the bed where the rest of the costume was laid out.  He put the cape down, then turned and sat at the foot of the bed, facing Kurt.

“Well,” he began, “in my senior year at McKinley, after you and I had broken up, I kind of started an after-school club.  You have to remember, superheroes were the big thing that year, with ‘The Avengers’ and all.  Anyway, a bunch of us created our own superheroes and costumes, and this,” he gestured toward the outfit, “was mine.”

Kurt’s face was a mixture of disbelief and amusement as he let the concept sink in.  Blaine.  Dressing up like a superhero.  At school. 

“Okay,” Kurt finally said, “break this down for me – what’s with the bird and the moon on the back?”

Blaine hesitated and mumbled, “My superhero name was Nightbird.”

“What?”

“Nightbird,” Blaine said louder, looking back up at Kurt after realizing he was looking at the floor.  He knew it was silly, and didn’t want Kurt thinking less of him.

“That’s fantastic!” Kurt said with a laugh.  “Oh, my God, Blaine, I can’t believe you never told me this.  This is hysterical!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Blaine said, shaking his head as Kurt sat down next to him, no longer suppressing his laughter.  “I can’t imagine why I didn’t bring this up earlier,” he said sarcastically while giving Kurt a pointed look before returning his gaze to the floor.  “I knew you’d make fun of me.”

Kurt became serious suddenly, looking at his husband who clearly didn’t think this was as funny as he did.  He took Blaine’s hand in both of his.  Affection was in his voice as he looked directly at Blaine and said, “Look at me, Blaine.”  Blaine complied, and Kurt continued.  “I am not making fun of you.”  Blaine’s triangular eyebrows lifted slightly as Kurt corrected himself. 

“Okay, yes, I find the concept amusing, but I’m not _making fun_ of you.  I think it’s sweet and charming and so, well, _you_ to do something like that.  But even if I laugh at you a little for it, it’s just because you’re so adorable and surprising sometimes.  I wish you’d told me sooner.  I love you and I want to know every crazy, fun, silly thing you did.  It’s all what made you you and I love that I’m still finding out things about you.”

Blaine’s eyes softened as he listened to Kurt, melting a little inside at his words.  “I know it was silly, but I didn’t feel all that great about myself at that time – I’d done something awful to you, we were broken up and you were gone.  I wanted to feel better about myself, maybe like I was good enough for you again, you know?  So this was my little way to escape and become a hero instead of a villain.”

Kurt reached over and wrapped an arm around Blaine, pulling him into a hug and kissing him gently on the cheek.  They had long since gotten past the incident, but Kurt still felt a rush of emotion at this revelation.

Blaine smiled into Kurt’s neck as they embraced.  Then a thought hit him.

“So, this wanting to know about me – is that why you went rummaging through my box in the closet, Mr. Nosey?” he asked as he released Kurt.

“No, I was looking for one of my photo albums so I could find a particular picture of Rachel from our McKinley days, and I didn’t see the label on the box before I opened it.”  Kurt looked a little remorseful as he continued, “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have snooped.”

Now it was Blaine’s turn to chuckle.  “No worries, Kurt.  The cat was bound to come out of the bag sooner or later.”

“Don’t you mean the bird had to come out of the box?” Kurt teased.

“Shut up.”

“Fair enough.”  Kurt smiled as Blaine patted Kurt’s knee and gave him a swift peck on the cheek.  He was about to get up, but Kurt grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down.  “Blaine?”

“Yes, Kurt?”

“Do me one more favor?” he asked in a sing-song voice, batting his eyelashes over his bright blue eyes.

Blaine narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he replied slowly, “What favor would that be?”

Kurt inched closer and said in a voice just above a whisper, “Put it on.”

Knowing that was the question that was coming, Blaine didn’t miss a beat as he stood up and said, “Oh, absolutely not.  Nope.  No way.  Not gonna happen.”

“Oh, come on, baby!  Please, please, pretty please?” Kurt whined, clasping his hands together dramatically and bouncing up and down on the bed. 

Blaine smirked at his ridiculous husband and, realizing he had no chance of winning, sighed in defeat, dropping his head back and letting out an overly-dramatic, exasperated, “Fine.”  Kurt clapped his hands and cheered, making Blaine laugh out loud.

“You’re crazy, you know that?” he asked.  Kurt hopped up and kissed Blaine quickly out of excitement. “That’s not going to help me get changed, Kurt.  Why don’t you make yourself useful?  Go get dinner started and I’ll see if this thing still fits.”

Kurt practically skipped out of the room, still clapping his hands, leaving Blaine to shake his head, first at his nutty husband and then at the costume lying on the bed.

Blaine had just finished getting dressed and was doing a final check in the mirror, feeling quite proud that everything still fit, when he heard a yell from the living room, followed by a thud and an “Ow!”

“Kurt?” he called as he ran into the living room.  “Kurt, are you all right?”  He found Kurt sprawled on his back on the living room floor, a look of pain and annoyance on his face and a tipped-over stool next to him.  Blaine knelt down next to him. 

“Stupid stool!” Kurt yelled, making Blaine relax a little.  If his first words were to curse a piece of furniture, he couldn’t be hurt that badly. 

“You didn’t hit your head, did you?”  Blaine asked as he reached out and stroked the top of Kurt’s head.  Kurt shook his head no.  “Can you sit up, then?” Blaine asked as he reached an arm behind Kurt’s shoulders to help him.  “Does it hurt anywhere?” he continued after successfully getting Kurt into a seated posture.

“My left ankle, a little,” Kurt said, wincing when Blaine pressed on it. 

“Well, then, it’s good that Nightbird is here to assist, good sir,” Blaine quipped, rising to his feet.  Kurt looked up at him, realizing for the first time that Blaine was in his costume.  He’d been too distracted by the pain in his ankle and, well, falling flat on his backside, to notice earlier.  He looked Blaine up and down and was surprised to discover that the first thought he had was, damn, he doesn’t look half bad!  Sure it was a little ridiculous, but the tight black pants and shirt, the cape, the mask (he hadn’t noticed a mask before) – it kind of _worked_. 

Blaine watched Kurt’s expression and saw his reaction.  He’d have to remember this for later, as Kurt clearly liked what he saw, but now was not the time.  He bent back down, putting Kurt’s arm around his neck before putting one arm around his waist and another behind his knees.

“What are you . . . Blaine,” Kurt protested as Blaine lifted him up, “I am sure I can walk.  You don’t have to carry me.”

Blaine deposited him gently on the couch before responding, “I don’t want you walking on that until we get it checked out.  It’s probably a sprain, but I think you should get an x-ray to be sure it’s not broken.”

“I don’t want to go to the . . . you know it’s impossible for me to have a normal conversation with you in that getup.  Anyway, I don’t need an x-ray.  I’m fine,” Kurt called after Blaine, who was already making his way to the bedroom, replying over his shoulder, “No arguments, Kurt.  I’m going to go change and we’re heading to the med center.”

It turned out that it was just a sprain, and a couple of days’ worth of rest were all that was required.  After a conversation of variations of “I told you so,” and “I don’t care,” the couple settled in for a quiet evening after an eventful afternoon.

They were comfortably ensconced on the couch, Kurt lying on his side with his head on a pillow on Blaine’s lap so he could keep his foot elevated, and watching a movie.  Out of nowhere, Kurt asked, “What’s with us and birds?”

Blaine, who had been stroking Kurt’s shoulder with his fingers, stopped in surprise.  “What?” he asked, hitting the mute button on the remote and looking down at his husband.

“Birds.  What’s with us and birds?” Kurt repeated, turning onto his back so he could look up at Blaine.

“Yeah, Kurt, I’m gonna need a little more to work with before I can answer that question.”

“Well, first you were a Warbler.  Then I was a Warbler.  Then I had Pavarotti, a canary.  Then I sang ‘Blackbird’ at which point you realized you had feelings for me.”  They exchanged a small smile at those words before Kurt continued, “Then you chose ‘Nightbird’ to be your super . . . hero . . . name. . .”

The realization of what he was saying caused Kurt to hesitate as he spoke the last couple of words.  His eyes widened then softened as the full understanding struck him.  Nightbird.  _Blackbird_. 

“Blaine,” he said softly, reaching up to touch his cheek.  Blaine looked back with a smile and said, “You know, nobody else ever made the connection.  I knew you would.  Like I said, you were gone at that time and I missed you so much.  I wanted to be better, and I wanted something to remind me of who I was being better for.”  Kurt leaned up as Blaine leaned down, meeting in the middle for a gentle kiss. 

“You named your superhero persona after me,” Kurt said when they parted.  “That is the sweetest, dorkiest thing you have ever done, and that includes when you used to read ‘Star Wars’ fanfiction to Sam.” Although the words were teasing, Blaine saw the extra brightness of tears forming in Kurt’s eyes as he said them.  He ran his fingers through Kurt’s hair, knowing he could get away with it for once, and leaned in to kiss him again.

The next day, as Kurt was dozing on the couch, Blaine went to the bedroom to pack his memorabilia back into the box and return it to the closet.  Kurt made him promise to keep the costume out, and after a few indecent suggestions as to why, Blaine was happy to comply.  The rest of the items were stowed away and as he tried to put the box back in its place, he noticed that something was in the way.  He reached in and pulled out a photo album.  Flipping through the first few pages, he realized it was the one Kurt was trying to find yesterday.  Sure enough, there was Rachel in her reindeer sweater.  “Oh, honey,” he muttered with a shake of his head.

A picture on the next page caught his attention, and after doing a double take, his mouth fell open.  There was Kurt, dressed in a costume that was half female and half male, split right down the middle.  Hair, makeup – all were divided half and half.  And the fringe – good lord, the fringe!  He removed the photo from the album and turned it over to check for a date.  He realized it was taken shortly before the two had met.  Below the date was written, “Le Jazz Hot – Victor/Victoria,” which explained things.  Blaine looked at the photo again, uttering, “Well, well, well, Mr. I-Want-To-Know-Every-Silly-Thing-You-Did.  Looks like I wasn’t the only one with a costume that I didn’t tell someone about.”  He stood up and was heading toward the door to exact a little payback when inspiration struck.  He peeked out into the living room to make sure Kurt was still asleep, then slipped his phone out of his pocket.   He picked a name off of his contact list and raised the phone to his ear.  Fortunately, the person he was calling answered.

“Hi, Burt, it’s Blaine.  Yeah, Kurt and his ankle are fine.  He’s sleeping right now.  Listen, do you still have all that stuff of Kurt’s stored in the basement?”  When he heard the reply, he looked back up at his peacefully sleeping husband, and with a mischievous grin, continued, “I need you to find something and send it to me . . .”


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is part two as promised! It is Kurt's turn for his old costume to make a comeback.

A week had passed since Kurt discovered Blaine’s costume and since Blaine had made a special request of Burt.  Blaine rushed home after receiving a notice that the package had finally arrived.  He needed to make sure he reached the apartment before Kurt.

“Hey, babe, I’m home,” Kurt’s voice rang out as he entered the apartment about an hour later.  “I swear every slow person in the world was purposefully placed between me and this building today,” he continued as he set his bag down and removed his shoes and coat. 

“You know, you sound like Sam when you talk about conspiracy theories like that,” Blaine replied with a grin as he came from the direction of the bedroom. 

“Oh, please, not that!” Kurt joked, crossing the living room to close the distance between them and greet his husband with a hug and a kiss, as was their custom.  “I know tonight is my night to cook, but I’m just not feeling it, so I gave in and ordered pizza on my way home.  It should be here in about half an hour or so.  I hope that’s okay with you.”

Blaine kept his arms around Kurt but pulled back to look at him.  “Pizza in the middle of the week?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.  “Who are you, and what have you done with my husband?”

“Hush, silly,” Kurt laughed, giving Blaine another quick kiss before releasing him with a playful push.

Blaine tried to control his excitement so as not to spoil the surprise he had planned.  He’d been waiting all day for this.

“So,” he began nonchalantly (he hoped), “since we have a little time before the pizza gets here, can you help me with something in the bedroom?”

Kurt quirked an eyebrow at Blaine’s question.  “My, my, my.  Eager this evening, are we?” he said slyly.  Blaine chuckled, realizing how his question had sounded.  “Nothing like that.  Geez.  Get your mind out of the gutter, Hummel.”

“That’s Hummel-Anderson, thank you very much.”

“Yes, yes.  Of course.  Just come with me,” Blaine laughed, taking his husband by the hand and leading him into the next room.  “All right,” Kurt responded, “but you had better not be taking me in there to show me how you rearranged your bowties again, because really, Blaine, there are only so many ways to put them in a drawer…”

“At least I didn’t order an organizational system for scarves from home shopping at 3 a.m. like some people,” Blaine replied without looking back.

They reached the bedroom before Kurt could launch into his defense of his purchase.  Blaine was practically jumping out of his skin in anticipation.  There at the foot of the bed was a large box with a bow on top – slightly off-center, as he’d had to rush tying it as Kurt walked in, but the effect was achieved.  Kurt’s eyes flew open wide in surprise as he looked back and forth between Blaine and the gift.

“What…why…Blaine!” he finally managed to say after a few seconds.  “What is this?  Oh, no,” Kurt’s expression suddenly turned from surprise to horror, “did I miss an anniversary?  Omigod, is it a holiday?  I know I’ve been working a lot, but I didn’t think I…” Kurt’s words were coming so fast that Blaine had to put a finger to his lips to still them.

“Kurt, it’s okay.  You didn’t miss anything,” Blaine said, cutting Kurt off mid-sentence and shaking his head.  “I just wanted to give this to you.  After you open it, you’ll understand why.”  Kurt was too busy being relieved at not having missed an important occasion to notice the mischievous glint in Blaine’s eyes.  He dropped Blaine’s hand and moved over to open the box.  He was just about to say how lucky he was to have the best husband ever when he saw what was inside. 

It had been years since he’d seen the suit, but he recognized it instantly.  Blaine had arranged it in the box so that the shirt was inside the jacket, laid out to display the lapels of the jacket perfectly.  He pulled the jacket out, unfurling the fringe which draped from the underside of one sleeve.  He’d spent hours getting that fringe just right, as he recalled.  He heard Blaine clear his throat pointedly as he turned around slowly.  Blaine saw Kurt’s lips pursed and one eyebrow up as he shook his head ever so slightly.

“You know,” Kurt began, walking slowly toward Blaine with the jacket and shirt still in his hands, “this proves it.”

Surprised by the first words, Blaine suppressed his laughter just enough to ask, “Proves what?”  Kurt stopped a few inches away from Blaine, narrowed his eyes, and said, “That my dad likes you better than he likes me.”

Blaine couldn’t hold back any longer, and let out a loud laugh.  Kurt looked on, shaking his head and rolling his eyes, but Blaine could tell he wasn’t really mad.

“How on earth did you even know about this?” Kurt asked when Blaine was finally able to stand upright after almost literally doubling over with laughter.  Blaine wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and responded, “Do you remember last week when I was putting away my box – the one you snooped in to find my Nightbird costume – and I found the photo album you were looking for in the closet?  Well, as I flipped through looking for the picture of Rachel’s disastrous reindeer sweater, I found a picture of you in…that.  I figured one good costume ambush deserved another.”

“You’re insane, you know that?”

“Yes, but you love me,” Blaine answered with a peck on Kurt’s cheek.  “Now,” he continued, “to complete the event, you know what you have to do.” 

“You must be kidding,” Kurt deadpanned.

“Nope. You started this, and now you’re going to finish it,” Blaine said, crossing his arms in front of him.  “On with it, Victor/Victoria.”

“Seriously, Blaine?  It’s not going to fit, you know.  Some of us have grown since junior year,” Kurt teased.

Blaine shook his head.  “A short joke isn’t going to get you out of this one.  I want that suit on.  Hair, makeup, half moustache – the works.  Move.”  He pointed toward the bathroom and stared Kurt down.  Kurt stood there for a moment, staring back, but he could tell Blaine wasn’t going to budge on this one.  Besides that, deep down he kind of felt like he owed it to him after teasing him about Nightbird only to find out Blaine had created the character out of guilt and named it for Kurt.  He wouldn’t admit that to Blaine (not now, anyway), so he had to keep up the charade of annoyance.

“Fine,” he said with a loud sigh and another eye roll.  “You’re still insane, though.”

Blaine smiled widely, following Kurt with his eyes as he picked up the box from the bed and headed to the bathroom to change.  Once the door was shut, he bolted from the room and into the spare bedroom that they used as an office.

About twenty minutes later, Kurt emerged from the bathroom – it may have been the fastest he’d ever gotten himself together, but he wasn’t going to spend any more time on this than he had to.  He was surprised that the suit didn’t fit too badly.  It had been a little loose on him originally, and though the slacks were a little short, and the jacket was a little snug in the shoulders, he didn’t think they looked too awful.  He was surprised that Blaine wasn’t sitting on the bed waiting for him.  He checked his hair once more in the bedroom mirror before opening the door while announcing, “I don’t know how I let you talk me into things like this,” he began as he stepped out of the bedroom and into the living room, but stopped mid-sentence and burst out laughing.  There was Blaine, seated on the couch in his full Nightbird costume, mask and all.  “What the hell are you doing?” he asked, cocking one hand to his hip as the fringe on the sleeve swayed.

Blaine sat motionless for a moment, taking in the sight before him.  There was his husband, in what should have been a ridiculous outfit, looking just…perfect.  The mixture of ivory and black cloth suited his fair complexion perfectly, and if the suit was a little tighter in places than originally intended, well, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.  The flow of the fabric accentuated his natural, poised posture, and while the makeup was unusual, it was exquisitely applied.  On Kurt, it all worked.

While Blaine thought all this, Kurt observed his expression, reading the admiration in his eyes.  He started to walk towards the couch, stopping a few feet in front of Blaine and posing once more, asking, “Like what you see, do you?”

Blaine rose and closed the distance between them, taking Kurt’s hands lightly in his and spreading them wide briefly to show off the costume in its entirety.  “Only you could carry this off, Kurt.  You’re stunning.”

“Why thank you, Nightbird.  You aren’t so bad yourself, you know,” he drawled, giving his husband the once-over.  Curiosity got the better of him, though, before he could do any more flirting.  “Speaking of,” he continued, “I know why I’m dressed for Halloween.  Why are you?”

Blaine blushed a little and looked at the floor for a second, then looked into Kurt’s eyes and said, “I didn’t know if you’d be too uncomfortable or embarrassed for some reason – though seeing you I can say for sure you have _no_ reason to be embarrassed – but I thought maybe if I dressed up too you wouldn’t feel weird about it.”

Kurt couldn’t believe his ears.  He was standing in front of the sweetest man on the planet.  Only Blaine would be so concerned about Kurt’s feelings that he would do something like that.  Kurt tilted his head to one side and huffed out a quiet laugh.  “I love you, Blaine Warbler Nightbird Hummel-Anderson.”  Blaine smiled as Kurt leaned in for a kiss.

_Ding-dong._

The sound of the doorbell startled the pair just as their lips were about to connect.  They were so lost in their moment that it took a second for them to realize what the sound was.

“Doorbell,” Blaine said.  “Pizza,” they said together, eyes widening.  They hesitated for a moment, wondering what to do.  Neither of them was going to have time to change.  Finally, Kurt let out a sigh and dropped his head for a moment.  “Come on, Bird Boy,” he said, grabbing Blaine by the cape, “time to put that togetherness idea of yours to the test.”  Blaine laughed as he followed Kurt to the door, linking their arms about halfway across the living room.  Kurt snatched his wallet from his bag and opened the door with a nonchalant, “Hello!”

The delivery guy was looking distractedly down at the invoice in his hand, then began speaking just before he looked up.  “Delivery for Humm…”  Pause.   “Uh, Hummel-Anderson?”  He shot a confused look back and forth between the two men in front of him – one in a strange black superhero costume and one in what appeared to be two suits sewn together up the middle, with half a drawn-on moustache and one eye made up. 

Kurt and Blaine drew on their performance experience and kept their faces impassive.  “What’s the total?” Blaine asked, as if nothing unusual was happening.  The delivery guy furrowed his brows for a second and then rattled off the total.  Kurt paid the bill, with tip, and Blaine relieved the delivery guy of the pizza box.  Kurt thanked him and was about to close the door when the delivery guy finally worked up the nerve to ask, “So, you guys going to a party or something?”

Kurt and Blaine exchanged a quick glance before turning back as Kurt said, “No,” like the guy had asked the weirdest question in the world.  Kurt then smiled widely and Blaine shut the door.  They both instantly cracked up in hysterics.

“That poor kid is gonna be so scarred and confused for a while,” Kurt said in his signature tone. 

Blaine kept laughing as he headed for the kitchen to get things together for dinner.  “I cannot believe you just did that.”

“Hey, you were right there with me,” Kurt replied.  Blaine stopped, walked over to Kurt and planted a kiss on his cheek, saying quietly, “And I always will be.”  Kurt almost welled up again at his perfect, dorky, sappy husband, cupping his cheek with his hand.  The swish of fringe as he moved reminded him of their current state of dress.

“Okay,” he said with a slight catch in his throat that he didn’t expect, “there’s no way we can eat in these outfits.  I am not going to risk dragging this,” he swung his arm around to whip the fringe back and forth, “in pizza cheese and sauce.  Quick change, then we eat.  Deal?”

“Deal,” Blaine replied.  Kurt headed to their bedroom, and Blaine headed to the spare room where he’d left his clothes when he changed.  “I might take a quick shower to get this junk out of my hair and get this makeup off, too,” Kurt called as he disappeared through the door.

Later in the evening, comfy clothes on and pizza box empty, the pair were snug on the couch together.  Blaine’s head rested on Kurt’s shoulder while Kurt slowly ran his fingers through Blaine’s hair. 

“You know, there’s one part of the costume ambush we haven’t done yet,” Blaine said, a little sleepily.  “You haven’t told me the story behind the outfit.” 

Kurt chuckled softly.  “You really planned this whole thing out, didn’t you?”

“Well, except for the wildly confused pizza delivery guy.  That was all you.  But don’t change the subject.  How did the split personality outfit come to be?”  He raised his head from Kurt’s shoulder and turned on the couch so he could face him while he spoke.

Kurt’s mind wandered back to the days at McKinley, remembering the days that led up to the creation of the costume.  “It was duets week – one of Mr. Schue’s themes – and I was originally supposed to sing with Sam.”  Blaine raised his eyebrows at the mention of his friend’s name.  “He had just started at McKinley and I thought he might be gay,” Kurt paused, and Blaine interjected, “The hair?”  “The hair,” Kurt replied.

“Anyway, Finn talked me out of singing with him, pretty much saying it would be social suicide for him to do so.  He wasn’t wrong, really,” Kurt added in a way that was almost talking to himself as he remembered the conversation with his step-brother.  “I remember having a conversation with my dad, too, and he kind of agreed with Finn.  I was so lonely back then, not knowing another gay kid at all.  I just wanted a chance to have someone special like everyone else.”  Kurt looked down and wondered when Blaine had taken his hand.  He put his other hand on top of Blaine’s and continued.

“I decided that if I had to be alone socially, I could be my own duet partner, too.  I always was one for the dramatic statement, right?  And so, Victor/Victoria suit was born.”

Blaine leaned over and kissed Kurt gently.  He pulled away, and said, “Man, the stories behind our crazy costumes are sooooo depressing!” which broke the emotional tension and made Kurt laugh for the hundredth time that evening.  “Yeah, well, comedy is born of tragedy, right?” 

Blaine just shook his head and settled back next to Kurt, resting his head on his shoulder once more as Kurt resumed carding his fingers through his hair.

“Who did Sam end up singing with after you changed your mind?” he asked.

“He wound up with Quinn.  They did a sweet (though at the time I found it nauseating) rendition of “Lucky.”  That’s how their messed-up little drama of a relationship started.”

“Hmm.  Kurt?”

“Yes, Blaine,”

“Do you hear me?”

“Um, I’m right here, and I answered you, so yes, I think I hear you.”

“No, Kurt,” Blaine twisted on the couch so that his head was in Kurt’s lap and he was looking straight up at him as he began to sing.

_Do you hear me, I’m talking to you_  
_Across the water, across the deep blue ocean_  
_Under the open sky, oh my, baby I’m trying_

Kurt chimed in with a smile, gently pushing Blaine off of his lap before standing and holding out his right hand in invitation.

_Boy I hear you, in my dreams_  
_I feel your whisper across the sea_  
_I keep you with me in my heart_  
_You make it easier when life gets hard_

They were now dancing slowly, Kurt’s arms around Blaine’s neck and Blaine’s wrapped around Kurt’s waist.  They joined in harmony together:

_Lucky I’m in love with my best friend_  
_Lucky to have been where I have been_  
_Lucky to be coming home again_  
_Ooo…_

_They don’t know how long it takes_  
_Waiting for a love like this_  
_Every time we say goodbye_  
_I wish we had one more kiss_  
_I’ll wait for you, I promise you, I will_

_Lucky I’m in love with my best friend_  
_Lucky to have been where I have been_  
_Lucky to be coming home again_

Blaine picked back up the verse solo, pulling Kurt a little closer as he did so.

_And so I’m sailing through the sea_  
_To an island where we’ll meet_  
_You’ll hear the music fill the air_  
_I’ll put a flower in your hair_

Kurt answered his solo with one of his own, playing with the curls at the base of Blaine’s neck as he rested their foreheads together.

_Though the breezes through the trees_  
_Move so pretty, you’re all I see_  
_As the world keeps spinning round_  
_You hold me right here right now_

Their voices joined together once more as they sang and felt the impact of the lyrics which almost seemed to have been written for them.

_Lucky I’m in love with my best friend_  
_Lucky to have been where I have been_  
_Lucky to be coming home again_  
_Lucky we’re in love in every way_  
_Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed_  
_Lucky to be coming home someday._  
_Ooo…_

As the song ended, the two kept swaying together, eyes closed and just breathing each other in.  They knew that they had each found their perfect duet partner – for life.  Lucky, indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song they sing is "Lucky" by Colbie Callait and Jason Mraz. I know, Blaine is really such a puppy here, but I couldn't help myself. 
> 
> Well, that's it for this story. Drop me a line and let me know what you thought (please?). Be well and be kind to one another :)

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, there's a chapter about Kurt's costume next! 
> 
> I sometimes receive comments in which people pick out a particular line that they like. If it isn't too weird to do that in one of your own works, I have to say that I love the line, "What's with us and birds?" As soon as it hit me, I was like, yeah, what IS up with that?!? :)


End file.
